Tribals in Jharkhand District Protest Decision to set up CRPF Camp

Giridih (Jharkhand): The Hemant Soren-led government’s decision to set up a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Mohanpur Village, situated at the foothills of Parasnath Mountain, in Giridih district of Jharkhand, has galvanised the angry villagers into opposing the move. Haunted by alleged police harassment and brutality, they fear that the decision will only exacerbate the situation.

“The police often enter our homes and beat us up in the name of search operations. They frequently abuse and accuse us of being extremists and Maoists. That’s why we are opposing the decision,” says villager Arjun Marandi. “On November 17, we got to know that the government is setting up a CRPF camp here. On one hand, the government coins slogans like ‘Lok Sabha Na Rajya Sabha, Sabse Pehle Gram Sabha’, but when they decide to set up a CRPF camp in our village, they don’t bother to discuss it with our Gram Sabha.”

Following a meeting with the representatives (Manjhis) of around 45 tribal villages, the villagers decided to protest on roads and even block the governor’s residence if the decision is not rolled back.

The signatures of the village heads who gave their consent to protest the state government’s decision.

“We want the government to build roads, schools, colleges and hospitals in the area so that our children become literate and the villagers can receive timely medical treatment,” says another villager Ranjit Hembram adding, “villagers who are severely ill or seriously injured in accidents often die while being taken to the hospital.”

An unmetalled road connects the village to Giridih. The villagers either commute on bicycles and bikes or walk crossing two streams of the river originating from the nearby mountain to reach the city.

The unmetalled road used by the villagers.

A few years ago, the state government decided to set up a CRPF camp on the foothills of the mountain. When the villagers opposed the move, a first information report was lodged against 1,500 unknown persons, including 24 persons from the nearby villages.

The process of setting up CRPF camps in the area started during the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of Raghubar Das in 2016. During his tenure, around 12 police camps were set up in this area. According to the website of Jharkhand Police, the crime rate in this area is very low compared to other cities of Jharkhand.

While admitting that the crime rate in the area is low, Mukteshwar Ram, a police sub-inspector in

Madhuban village, says, “Maoists are active in the area and several villagers support and even shelter them. Therefore, the government has decided to build police camps here.”

However, Madhuban village head Dadhma Hansda contradicts Ram. “We know that this area has been affected by Maoist activities but neither of us is related to them. We are against police camps because they have arrested villagers without evidence, tortured them and even killed several of them,” he alleges.

The experience of Ilisa, a native of Madhuban, supports Hansda’s allegations. “Late night last year, some cops barged into my house and whisked my husband off to the police station accusing him of being an extremist. When the villagers protested, the police released him,” she alleges.

“The government’s duty is to educate us and provide us with a good healthcare system. The government has failed to build roads and provide proper irrigation to our agricultural land. By setting up such camps, the government wants to snatch our right to jal, jungle, zameen (water, forest, land). But we will die rather than allow such camps,” adds Ilisa.

Before the 2019 Assembly elections, then-Opposition leader Hemant Soren visited Giridih and made several promises, including not allowing the setting up of police camps.

The writer is an independent journalist and a student of the University of Delhi.